As is well known, addictive disease of all kinds has been a problem throughout the world since time immemorial. The problem has become more serious in recent years as increasingly more powerful and addictive substances become the drugs of choice for rich and poor alike around the world. One Japanese press report estimated that there were 14.5 million people using illicit drugs in the United States during the year 1988. Similarly, an article published in the "China News Agency" has stated that the United States has 6 million people suffering from addictive disease who are awaiting immediate treatment. Further, according to the 16th issue of "World Knowledge", the Soviet Union has 1.5 million addicts. The list of places suffering from the problems caused, directly or indirectly by addictive diseases includes, Columbia, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Italy, and India. It is said that the number of addicts all over the world is more than 50 million. In China, an investigation in a north-west city showed that actual number of addicts in one district of this city was over 10,000 in spite of the official (registered) figure of only 700. Investigation was also done in another district of this same city and 5,000 and 2,000 addicts were found in two big enterprises respectively. In remote districts, drug-taking is very open. One can easily meet people taking drugs in restaurants and hotels.
It is been alleged that the number of addicts all over the world is more than 50 million. Drug abuse is a long-standing problem which creates many other social dislocations. In many countries, more than half of criminals have a history of substance abuse. Recent press reports have suggested that this ratio approaches 82% in Philadelphia. In the Soviet Union, it has been stated that quite a few gangs of juvenile delinquents among the thousand gangs cracked down on in 1988 were linked together because of narcotics. In Columbia, since 1984, thousands of those opposing drug dealing have been killed by the drug gangs, including presidents of the country, legislators, senior police officers, news reporters and many others.
Narcotics such as heroin, cocaine, morphine and its derivatives produce both behavioral and physical dependance. These substances excite the cerebral cortex and provide an illusion of happiness and well being which is the basis for the behavioral addiction. Depending upon the particular substance of abuse, the symptoms may include depression, inability to work, loss of appetite, weight loss, insomnia and tiredness, and trembling. Sudden withdrawal can induce prostration and even death.
Narcotics destroy the adrenaline enzyme, and reduce the sensitivity of the nervous system. The only organ of the human body able to eliminate narcotics is the liver. However, it takes at least 60 minutes for the liver to eliminate a lethal dose. Excess quantity is diluted into the blood and then is absorbed into the bone marrow. Some is discharged by the kidney. If an addict stops taking "drugs", 5-8 hours later, he or she begins to face the so-called phenomenon of withdrawal: the victim becomes exhausted and depressed, but in an exciting state, repeatedly crying, yawning, sneeze, snivel, cold sweating, extremely pain in the bones, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and loss of will, and a craving for narcotics. It is common knowledge that many addicts will do anything to obtain relief from withdrawal, including committing murder or suicide. To avoid the symptoms of withdrawal, addicts have to consume a sufficient quantity of narcotics.
It is very clear that narcotics are a health hazard. Unfortunately, no safe and effective cure has been found. Methadon treatment is not a cure for addiction. In the United States one method of treatment is to change all the blood of an addict, but this is not a cure, it just serves to maintain life. Because of the serious problem of drug abuse in the United States, President Bush has proposed to provide $7.9 billion for drug enforcement, including $925 million to be used for medical treatment for addicts. President Bush also proposed extensive research to find a cure for addiction. In China, the Ministry of Hygiene provides prescriptions for treatment of addiction which are numbered as 1, 2, 3 and 4. Prescriptions 1, 2 and 3, contain narcotic at gradually reducing quantities. Prescription 1 can be mixed with narcotics and placed on tinfoil paper for smoking. Prescription 4 is only for consolation, so it is actually illegal for sale but must be used under guidelines. However, when the effect of the medication has passed, the symptoms of withdrawal will occur again. Since the Opium War, there have been some methods for treating addiction prevalent in China, listed as follows:
1. Agalloch, Tea, Lotus seed, Jindan to produce a sweetened pill weighing one qian (5 grams) for swallowing. PA0 2. Abrade Radix polygoni mutiflori, Cinnamon Bark, Green tea, Human skull, Astragalus membranaceous, and Hung-Sae-Dan into powder and swallow with boiled water. PA0 3. abrade Lotus seed and mix with opium ash, then swallow with boiled water. PA0 4. six Aconitum carmichaeli, Flow Daturae, Buthus martensii karsch, Cinnbaris, which are herbs of prisoners, and swallow. PA0 5. mix Lu-Shen-Wan, Jindan, Chlorpromazinum, and swallow.
However, all of the above medicines are unsafe for use in treating addiction. The above compositions often killed addicts utilizing them.
As has been described, at present there is no satisfactory cure for addictive disease. Thus, it can be readily appreciated that a method of treating and curing those who suffer from addictive disease, utilizing a composition having no narcotic ingredients, which can effect a cure within a range of 7-30 days and clear all drug deposits from an addict's blood and marrow, would be of great benefit to the entire world.